Abstract

Background: The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic can have many adverse personal and professional consequences for physicians and medical students. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the psychological consequences of the COVID-19 disease in physicians and medical students during the pandemic. Materials and Methods: Using the census method, this cross-sectional study was conducted on 132 physicians and medical students working in Rafsanjan hospitals, Kerman province, Iran, from May to August 2020. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7), and Impact of Event Scale (IES) were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using SPSS 22, and descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square and Multiple logistic regression) methods were applied. Results: More than half of the participants were female and married. According to GHQ, fifty-one and a half of the participants had psychological disorders. Based on the results, 24.2 of the participants had GAD, and 33.3 had PTSD. The results also showed that only occupation significantly correlated with psychological disorders (P = 0.01). The risk of psychological disorders in medical students was 2.38 times higher than among physicians (OR= 2.38, 95 CI= 1.11- 5.10, P = 0.026). Conclusion: Physicians and medical students were faced too much stress in the COVID-19 pandemic. They were at great risk of mental health disorders and the psychological consequences of COVID-19 due to their job condition. Managers and health policymakers need to take the necessary mental health interventions to reduce such risks.